1st Gen. Lunch Table - General Discussion

That’s one nice thing about dual batteries. If the primary fails you have a good chance of a jump. If the secondary fails you can still drive.

 

Any shop or parts store can test the batteries caa’s and see how it holds up.

 

Swap when it fails.

Here's the thing - and back on the prepper topic recently - you should always have jumper cables, although these days, it's even more practical and compact just to carry one of those remote jump starters with you, that you can throw on even a dead battery and it'll build up enough power to fire back and get you started.

I've never known a battery that was used regularly to just straight-up fail, to the point it wouldn't supply any power. They're not designed that way. A cell may fail, the CCA may fall off due to age, but total fail isn't common unless it's been abused. You virtually always get some symptoms.

 

I wait for death. Or at least the first signs of death. Slow crank, wonky electrical activity etc. usually get 5 years or so out of a battery. Oddly enough, my daughters battery (Napa Gold AGM) died at 37 months this week. Getting a prorated replacement for $108

 

In line with these, kind of. I pay a lot more attention than I used to when I was broke (then, of course I didn’t replace anything ‘til it failed), and usually there are signs. I carry one of those booster devices in Hulk, but also once got the battery tested and replaced before heading out on a trip to Sedona— doesn’t make sense to go far from home and easy logistical support, without making sure the truck is good to go.

Hmmn. But that may have been the same trip that the bolts in the LBJ sheered, I shredded the sidewalk of a new 10-ply tire, and that the side panel of my KB Voodoo rack broke. So… I guess preventative replacement isn’t everything.

 

I exchange for a new one after:

1. Issue cranking due to low voltage in morning
2. Getting it tested at the closest Autozone or Riley’s

If it fails 2, I’ll bring it to the dealer and get a credit towards a new one.

I already went through an experience with a dead battery cell I don’t want to repeat. Basically, when I started it in the morning the current getting sucked by the battery was so great for the first 1-2 minutes, the alternator wouldn’t regulate and I was seeing 20-21 volts across the battery.

Since there’s probably a voltage protection circuit on the computer module, I’m lucky it didn’t fry my electronics!

 

What electronics? You drive a 1GT.

 

I was about to report, but then I saw it was you.

 

I love the 1GT group. Good humor and crazy mechanic/mangling skills. I just felt like poking the bear today.

 

* my talk-to-text elevated my reaction anyway; I meant it to say, “retort” not report. <sigh> Siri has a fairly limited vocabulary.

 

Apparently it snows leaves here. F this tree. I will do a happy dance when it comes down.

 

Those don't look like black walnut leaves. Looks more like something birch/beech-ish. You're taking down another tree, after the denied attempt on the black walnut?

 

At least Siri values my jokes enough to make threats on your behalf.

 

I can't believe you have to get approval to take down a tree in your own yard. That's some west coast bullshit. Last year I had a Tulip Poplar cut down and didn't have to ask anyone.

I can definitely relate to the leaf issue though. Also, this year the white oak in my yard dropped thousands of acorns. Never seen anything like it. I'll have this one cut down next.

 

Sometimes you feel like a nut

 

Next week you don't

 

Lol

 

I used to buy the costco interstate that had a 3 year warranty. I would proactively swap it before 3 years came up.

 

It's not just west coast, we have it here in Atlanta too. I'm actually glad they have it, because we would've lost half our trees were it left up to others, and couldn't legitimately call ourselves "The city in the forest" anymore. Even with our current tree ordinance, we're on target to lose between 25-35% of our tree canopy by 2030 to development.

We had one developer come into my neighborhood and clear-cut to build 3-4 dozen single family homes, inside the city. It was absolutely unnecessary, they were just lazy and didn't want to adjust their cookie-cutter suburban bullshit site plan to avoid encroaching on, and thus save, two dozen mature trees. Instead they chose to cut down over 100 trees. Then planted back about 3 dozen sapling twigs, many of which died in the first 10 years.

Unfortunately, a small subset of lazy, greedy developers have ruined shit for everyone here. The city is trying to put more teeth into legislative ordinance, stiffen fines, because currently, if the value of the land a tree occupies is worth 4x as much as the fine for illegal removal, guess what investors or developers choose to do?

But at least it's moderately balanced here. As long as you have a justifiable reason for removal here - i.e. arborist says it's DDH (dead/dying/hazardous), or it's coming into contact with your home, there's an imminent loss-of-life risk, or you want to expand your home within the confines of the law - the permits get rubber-stamped and you're golden.

Permits here are only required if the tree is above a certain diameter at chest height. No need to jump through hoops here like Dave is. But you can't just cut mature trees down in your yard because "...it's a tulip poplar, it drops too many leaves" or "...it's a white oak, it drops too many acorns". That shit won't fly. Well, sometimes it flies, like with Hackberry trees, ever since the Chinese Wooly aphids invaded 15-20 years ago, which you can't control worth a damn, the mess this native tree's parasites cause is deemed 'nuisance' in some cases. In any case, there's also mandatory plant-back of native species required.

Granted, folks don't necessarily follow the law. I had a huge cryptomeria my builder planted too close to the house. Made great kindling. But it rubbed the shit outta the side of the house and trimming it back right would've made the tree look stupid. A permit would've been approved due to contact w/the house, so I cut it down w/o one.

I'd be pissed in Dave's shoes. I do support doing things to your own yard within reason. In heavily urban environments where trees are critical to solving urban-centric issues, like keeping temps down, eating air pollution, things where your actions can impact everyone, I think some legal guidance (i.e. restrictions) are needed. If you're outside the city limits, not in close proximity to others, do wtfever you want!

Fun related story - a close friend had a neighbor move in ~2014. First thing this guy did was cut down every tree on his lot (15+ trees), and when asked why, guy says he lost a family member to a tree falling on his house. When he took out all his trees, he went over the clearly marked property line and started to cut down trees on my buddy's lot. He got him to stop, and thought that'd be it. Then the guy starts illegally adding 2 extra bedrooms/1 bath onto his house w/o permits, and poorly at that - no footings, wood touching earth, haphazard wiring, etc. He sold the house in mid-2019 to a younger couple, their first home. They ended up having to tear off that entire side of the house, losing 40% of their investment. They had no recourse because the guy somehow sweet-talked them out of an inspection.

If people weren't greedy and/or didn't inherently suck, we wouldn't need regulations. But there's a selfish jackass in every bunch who DGAF if they screw it up for others. (and I'm not lumping you in that group @FirstGenVol)

 

I don't need government this involved in my life though. I saw a story last year where a guy in California wanted to cut down a tree in his yard. The city said no. It then fell on his house and killed him.

I love trees. Most people love trees. They make neighborhoods look nice. Some trees need to go though. I hate that my neighbors have a 80' oak tree that could easily destroy my house if it fell. They are lazy and the limbs are growing into their roof. All it takes is one bad storm and that tree could destroy either house.

So no, I don't think I should have to ask to take down a nuisance tree. We have a jungle in my backyard which we love, but I don't want them right next to my house.

 

With balanced regulation like we have here, that would never happen. All you need is a certified arborist to inspect the tree, confirm it's a risk, and you've got a permit for removal, and it's quick. And for this reason:

That's why I think what Dave's dealing with is BS. Especially for an undesirable species like black walnut, creates a mess, toxifies the soil, etc.

We have a similar situation. Meth head behind us has a sweet gum that's on its way out, dropping limbs left and right, and leaning towards my neighbors house, and would probably take my deck out also. We called an arborist. For $150, inspected the tree, deemed it dangerous. We sent the report with a warning via certified mail to the property owner, and our respective insurance companies to inform them suit would be filed for damage or loss of life were this professionally-confirmed DDH tree falls. Dude finally wised up a year later, stopped dragging his feet, and used the arborist report to file for a tree permit, and removed the damn thing.

Are you inside the city limits, in a high-density area, where houses are typically less than 15-25ft apart, wall-to-wall?

If not, none of my commentary really applies to your case.

 

And this is why I like living outside any city limits. If I want to plant a tree I can, and if I want to cut one down I can. My property, my choice. Not my "neighbors" or any other busy body's business what I choose to do with my property.

 

This is one of a myriad of reasons I can't wait to gtfo of the city, seriously.

I'm grateful for having lived here, I've learned a ton & understand now why some folks in the city tend to be uptight about certain things. There's some legitimacy in it all.

But dammit if I'm not ready to move along, be where I don't need to worry about my neighbor, who is at least a football field or two away, or ideally, at least 1/8 mile away

 

Yup. I'll gladly take the inconvenience of living out of town vs dealing with people these days. We are no longer neighbors, or a society; we are just strangers who live close to one another.

 

I think what you say is definitely true in the 'burbs, or that was my experience. It's definitely not true for my end of the block. My immediate neighbors are virtually family, all 4 houses of them. In fact, it's one of two things I'll miss when we gtfo. So much that we may bring at least one household with us wherever we go.

OTOH, go one block down, and that next clump of houses isn't remotely like that. Nor the one after that. But there are more pockets like mine than not, where people have lived next to each other for a decade or more, and treat each other like family. You kinda need that stuff when every 10th person is an asshole.

 

Here if your tree overhangs your neighbor’s property they can make you cut the overhanging branches if it causes issues with their property. (i.e. leaves or acorns falling in their pool).

 

Sounds like you have some good neighbors. That's the exception, not the rule, though.

 

This one is a honey locust I’m told. And it is the #1 target of my tree hate. The black walnut is a fight for another day.

 

I'm firmly in the camp of replacing before they go out. The inconvenience of one going out on me far exceeds the small cost of proactive replacement. I replace them every three years, the Texas heat is pretty hard on them. I give the core's to a buddy that uses them for his farm equipment. I made this decision a few years ago when I had one go bad on a short beach vacation with the family. Drove a few hours and checked into our VRBO. Got up early the next morning and loaded everything up to head to the beach and the car wouldn't start. There was no signs of the battery getting weak beforehand, it was around 4 years old. Missed that one day at the beach with family and friends driving into town and replacing the battery. Made me think about some of the client meetings I could have missed or deals it could have cost me as well. Never again. Hopefully.